


Time

by emblah01



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Post-How To Train Your Dragon (2010)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-08 17:10:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4313370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emblah01/pseuds/emblah01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiccup contemplates the consequences of no longer being considered the village nuisance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time

**Author's Note:**

> [originally posted on ffn.net under the penname emblah01.]  
> set about five days after the first movie.  
> inspired by 'au revoir' by onerepublic.  
> i don't own how to train your dragon or its characters.

He still wasn't used to this.

He wasn't used to people noticing him in this way: the smiling and the waving and the kind questions. Sure, he was used to getting noticed; it was kind of hard to go unnoticed when all you did was screw things up and cause trouble.

Astrid had fled after about two minutes of stuttering and awkward glances after she had kissed him. He was still a little confused as to why she had done that willingly.

For one, she had never expressed anything but disgust and aggressiveness towards him before he had shown her Toothless. And, to be honest, he was feeling a little resentful.

Two, she could have chosen any guy on the island, being who she was and having her status, and she had chosed him.

He leaned back on Toothless' scaly hide, sighing and soaking up the sun of the beautiful day.

He had managed to escape his village on his dragon to the cove where he had first befriended the Night Fury. He couldn't handle too much change at once, even if it was supposedly good.

Why did they think that, after years of showing him nothing but disgust and disappointment, they could all of a sudden act like he was the best person on all of Berk? They might have been ready to move on from the past, but he sure wasn't. He wasn't ready to let go of all they had done to him and vice versa.

Astrid must have had some sort of positive feelings for him, whether they were platonic or not was something he hadn't figured out yet, because she had kissed him earlier that week.

He just didn't know if she had fallen for the guy who took her on a flight on his dragon, or himself. He was still Hiccup. He was still small and scrawny. He was still the same person. He just had a dragon and lacked part of a limb now.

He didn't know if she was just feeling sorry for him, if she just pitied him for the loss of his left foot. He didn't want any pity from anyone. Many previous Vikings had lost appendages before; he was neither the first nor the last. Hel, Gobber was missing half of his limbs, and a tooth, and no one treated him like he was made of glass or the best Viking there ever was.

So why was it that wherever he went, he was followed by amiable waves and kind greetings of well-wishing. It was alien, not to mention smothering. He couldn't go anywhere without being attacked by people wanting to talk to him and become his best friend.

'No thanks,' he would think. 'I already have one of those. You know, the one you almost killed.'

Said best friend rumbled underneath him as he absentmindedly scratched behind his ears and under his chin.

"Why does everything have to be different, bud?" he asked his companion, even though he knew he would never get an answer. Toothless merely whined and nudged Hiccup's hand with his head.

Hiccup uncrossed his feet – well, foot. He was still getting used to the metal in place of his foot. His blacksmithing mentor had said it would take time to heal both his mind and his stump. Hiccup just hoped it would take a short amount of time. He hated feeling like he was broken.

He breathed, taking in the fresh air of the cove and stared out to the lake. This was the first time in a long time he felt truly at peace. He couldn't believe that less than two weeks ago, he had fought the Red Death and almost died. Less than two weeks ago, he was meant to kill a Monstrous Nightmare in the arena and his dad had unofficially disowned him.

His dad: Stoick the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligan trib. He seemed to think that because Hiccup had accepted his apology out on the battlefield, though rather quickly (and one couldn't forget that he didn't know if he was going to make it out alive), he was null for all the things he had ever said to Hiccup.

Hiccup didn't hate his dad, not at all. He hated the way that he thought that he could finally be proud of him because he had killed the Red Death. He was proud of what he'd done, not of who he was.

Part of Hiccup believed that his father could never be proud of the Hiccup that sat in his room and drew blueprints for inventions. The Hiccup that took the time on hunting trips to smell flowers and admire the scenery. The Hiccup that was the first Viking in history that couldn't kill a dragon. The Hiccup that screwed up everything he touched. His father was so proud of this 'new Hiccup', but Hiccup didn't feel any different.

His leg ached sometimes, but that was the only difference.

He brought back to reality by Toothless nudging him in the side with his nose. His green eyes were large and his pupils wide and excited.

"Ready to go, bud?" Hiccup asked, pushing himself up from his sitting position using the Night Fury as a brace. Toothless shot him a gummy smile and flicked his tail in anticipation like a cat would. He hobbled over to his saddle and managed to get on it with some maneuvering and help from his dragon.

As they flew above the clouds, Hiccup realized something.

Without these changes, he never would have never acquired his best friend. He wouldn't have this precious bond over missing tail fin and missing left foot.

He reached up to touch the clouds; the fine mist brushing his fingertips and coating them in moisture. He breathed in the cold wind, wishing to savour the feeling of complete freedom.

And he realized that change could also be good. He just needed time to heal.

**Author's Note:**

> leave me some kudos or a comment or something if you liked this! thanks!


End file.
